Addition by Subtraction? Is the team better now?
- Thread starter Spideroldie
- Start date
we've won 5 in a row including 3 road games. we're clearly playing our best ball. half the fans here had given up by the time ANO got hurt. yes, we're a better team now. not even debateable in my mind. it was addition by subtraction.
not because ANO isnt an very good and important piece. I'm a big ANO fan. he's a heck of a player. but we might still be .500 if he didn't get hurt. I didn't see anything that would lead me to think otherwise. his injury was a galvanizing point for this team. roles changed. players stepped up. Deion started muscling up defensively against bigs inside instead of defending a wing on the perimeter. ANO, DT, and Trey on the floor together doesn't work well offensively, and that happens a lot when all are available.
we can be even better when he gets back, this year or next. we'll have to figure out a way to re-incorporate him, though.
not because ANO isnt an very good and important piece. I'm a big ANO fan. he's a heck of a player. but we might still be .500 if he didn't get hurt. I didn't see anything that would lead me to think otherwise. his injury was a galvanizing point for this team. roles changed. players stepped up. Deion started muscling up defensively against bigs inside instead of defending a wing on the perimeter. ANO, DT, and Trey on the floor together doesn't work well offensively, and that happens a lot when all are available.
we can be even better when he gets back, this year or next. we'll have to figure out a way to re-incorporate him, though.
Now here is an interesting metaphor.
A man breaks his leg, so he uses a crutch. His leg heals but he still uses the crutch. You take the crutch away and he realizes his leg has healed.
Now it is time to give him back the crutch to beat his opponents over the head with it.
A man breaks his leg, so he uses a crutch. His leg heals but he still uses the crutch. You take the crutch away and he realizes his leg has healed.
Now it is time to give him back the crutch to beat his opponents over the head with it.
I know this probably won't mean much of anything to anybody here, but before ANO got hurt we were ranked 49th best team in the country by Kenpom. We are currently ranked 52nd. According to the computers if anything we have become worse without ANO, despite the win streak.
Zo's numbers (pts/rebs/mins) for the 5 games before he went out on IR (not including URI):
Davidson - 15/2/26
@Dayton - 11/7/33
Duquesne - 8/7/20
@ VCU - 6/6/29
@LaSalle - 15/7/30 (also had 3 assists and 2blocks)
Who would not want that output from one of our main guys?
We were 3-2 in those games where 3 of the 5 were against teams higher/equal to us in A10 current standings, with the two losses coming on a total of 5 points. In the 5 games following his injury, including URI where he only had 4 minutes, we were also 3-2 but only 1 of those 5 teams is higher/equal to us in the standings. A lot of this has to do with who we played when.
It's too simplistic to say that his presence/absence is the defining factor in our play.
Davidson - 15/2/26
@Dayton - 11/7/33
Duquesne - 8/7/20
@ VCU - 6/6/29
@LaSalle - 15/7/30 (also had 3 assists and 2blocks)
Who would not want that output from one of our main guys?
We were 3-2 in those games where 3 of the 5 were against teams higher/equal to us in A10 current standings, with the two losses coming on a total of 5 points. In the 5 games following his injury, including URI where he only had 4 minutes, we were also 3-2 but only 1 of those 5 teams is higher/equal to us in the standings. A lot of this has to do with who we played when.
It's too simplistic to say that his presence/absence is the defining factor in our play.
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